Tag: WIPO

The age of digitisation has opened new doors to distribution of information including for libraries and archives. However, librarians and archivists are often confronted with risk of liability for copyright infringement, nationally and in cross-border activities. This week, they asked the World Intellectual Property Organization copyright committee to provide them not only with some exceptions to copyright, but with protection against liability.

The WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is taking place from 14-18 November. On the SCCR agenda is copyright exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives. On 17 November, librarians and archivists took the floor to explain why an international standard protecting them against liability is indispensable.

It was beneath the old acacia tree where the community elders meet that Ole Kaunga and Ole Tingoi turned to me back in 2006 with an idea that could help the Maasai people of East Africa open up a modern-day revenue stream. “Let’s build a library of our music and sell it online,” Ole Kaunga said. “Like iTunes.”

And so began an ambitious partnership that seeks to deliver concrete benefits to the community through recording, archiving and commercializing Maasai music and other cultural expressions.

How can Blockchain change the industry’s revenue stream due to its ability to store, organise and share data based on a concept of transparency?

Blockchain panelists at Shoreditch House’s library in London gathered on Tuesday May 17. The technology is changing all the time and so rapidly as no one is quite sure what it will look like in a few months from now. But already music professionals – musicians, managers and labels – can use blockchain to fight fraud, create smart contracts and secure payments. Panelists also talked about many the issues involved, including transparency and copyright.